The Stone Demon by Karen Mahoney Read Free Book Online

doing stuff she wouldn’t exactly approve of. Xan liked to think of himself as the kind of guy who took action first and worried about the consequences later. He wasn’t much for planning. Or at least, he wasn’t into sharing his plans, because that just gave people the opportunity to talk him out of whatever he was going to do next.
    Donna’s voice was faint on the other end of the phone, making her sound far away. Which, he supposed, she was. “Xan? Are you still there?”
    Her voice yanked him out of his thoughts. “Yeah, sorry. Hearing your voice again … it’s been too long.”
    “And whose fault is that, Mr. Grayson?” Donna’s tone was playful, but he could detect the edge beneath the surface.
    Sighing, Xan tucked his cell phone into a more comfortable position and leaned back. “I know, I know. I really am sorry.”
    “It’s fine,” she replied. “I’m happy to hear from you. Things have been crazy here.”
    “I heard about the British Museum on the news. That’s why I called—I needed to make sure you were okay.”
    “We’re all fine,” Donna said. Her voice lowered and he could hear the emotion in it. “I can’t say the same for the people who died in the explosion.”
    “And it was definitely him? Demian?”
    “What do you think?”
    He shrugged, even though she couldn’t see the gesture. “I just wanted to make sure. You know, just in case there was a chance it was … something else.”
    “He wanted to get our attention.” She laughed bitterly. “And then he invited us all to a stupid ball .”
    “I heard a little about that, too,” he admitted, wondering if he was already saying too much. “I saw Maker earlier and he let something slip.”
    “Maker does like to talk.”
    “Yeah, I was surprised he told me anything at all, but I guess it was hard to hide that something major had happened. I mean, that Demian had actually made his first move.”
    If she was surprised he’d spent time with Maker, Donna hid it well. “What did he tell you?”
    “About the masquerade, and that there’s going to be a big meeting there of alchemists, demons, and wood elves.”
    There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, but she quickly recovered herself. “Sounds like he told you more than ‘a little.’ It actually sounds like you know more than me .”
    Shit. He knew he’d said too much. “Which part didn’t you know?”
    “I thought it was just the alchemists meeting with De-mian,” she said. “How did he know about the wood elves?”
    “I don’t know. He just said it was like peace negotiations, and that all the major factions would be involved. They’re trying to avoid a war, but I’m not sure how much hope everyone is really holding out for that.”
    “Did he specify which elves would be there?”
    Xan rubbed his eyes. He was getting a headache. “No …
he definitely didn’t mention the Wood Queen to me—not by name—but I guess I assumed that’s who he meant when he said ‘wood elves.’”
    “Oh.” Donna went quiet after that.
    “You’re not mad because Maker told me something you didn’t know, are you?”
    “Well, it’s not exactly your fault.” There was a smile in her voice, which filled him with relief.
    “Donna,” he said, a sudden rush of anxiety hitting him full in the chest. “You’re not going to it, right? The ball, I mean.”
    “I don’t want to, but it’s not looking like I have much of a choice.”
    “You have the choice to walk away. From all of it.”
    Donna sighed. “I’m sort of stuck here, Xan. This was the result of the tribunal—you know that. I’m serving under Miranda now.”
    He hit the back of the passenger seat with his free hand. “That doesn’t mean you have to do what they tell you all the time. Take back some control!”
    “I’m only seventeen. I’m a member of a secret order of alchemists. I have cold iron running through my arms and a piece of the first matter inside me. My life is so far away